Exhausted: Is 2020 Cancelled?

We are all exhausted from the emotional roller-coaster that has been this year. What seemingly started with the death of a legend, every week sense has seemed to bring more and more tragedy and bad news. Wildfires, severe and deadly/life-threatening weather, illnesses, coronavirus, police brutality… that’s only in America. If I tried to list the rest of the things occurring around the world, I’d be here all day. 
 
(and what is this fly-catching tulip-looking flower thing I found in our front yard?)
 
Nonetheless, it’s happening and we’re facing it every day. 2020 has caused a lot of stress and anxiety in people who may not normally deal with these issues on a regular basis. Like the year that 9/11 happened, I don’t think that anyone will ever forget where and what they were doing for a significant portion of this year because of all the events that have occurred thus far. Unfortunately, this also causes a lot of trauma and a lot of people will need to seek help after such a rough year.

But, if there’s one thing I do know personally about the pain, angst, and vulnerability that comes with trauma is that it forces us to grow— if we allow it. We can seek the light in what has seemingly been a continuum of catastrophic events and allow it to help us be better. 

Although we can’t change natural disasters; we can change the way we treat one another, we can change the way we love and care for our families and our Earth. We can change policies, laws, and opportunities so that they are available and just for all. We can change our ego-centric “me, me, me” mentality and adopt a more altruistic vision as a whole. 

We can become more mindful, more charitable, more benevolent people. We must first recognize that there is a need for change. There is a need for humanity. There is a need for people to wake up. As I said in my last post, if we don’t wake up this can continue generation after generation. Waking up isn’t easy. It’s painful, it’s uncomfortable and it’s extremely challenging at times; however, it is needed for personal and universal growth.
 
I don’t love trends but there is one that I can get down with. Someone creating the genius idea that we must “cancel” all things that do not serve us. However, I don’t think we should cancel something because it makes us “uncomfortable” like the year 2020, specifically. But I think this short poem by Leslie Dwight, is so beautifully put and says it all:
“What if 2020 isn’t canceled?
What if 2020 is the year we’ve been waiting for?
A year so uncomfortable, so painful, so scary, so raw —
that it finally forces us to grow.
A year that screams so loud, finally awakening us
from our ignorant slumber.
A year we finally accept the need for change.
Declare change. Work for change. Become the change.
A year we finally band together, instead of
pushing each other further apart.
 
2020 isn’t canceled, but rather 
the most important year of them all.”
-Leslie Dwight

The most important year of them all is right. We are ripping off the band-aid and re-learning everything. Cancelling only the things, negative forces, and policies that no longer serve us.

*If you’re in need of mental health resources during this time. Please visit my resources page for a list of helpful information. Stay safe, stay healthy, and keep awakening your souls.
 
credit:
photos by me